Sunday, February 10, 2013

Sumo!


I went to the 37th Grand Sumo Tournament yesterday.  The format of this tournament is based on “fair draw”, not ranking, making it different from official tournaments. The tournament was at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, an impressive indoor sports arena primarily used for sumo.



We arrived just after lunch, in time to see the semifinals and finals of the Juryo Division tournament.  Juryo Division is the second highest division in professional sumo.  One of the wrestlers we saw in the semifinals was Takanoyama, a Czech who, at 6’1” and 220 pounds, looks tiny compared to the other wrestlers, who range between 300 and 400 pounds.  (Wikipedia is a fount of information!)  He lost that particular match, but I am amazed at how well he did/does considering the size difference.  Apparently, his technique is excellent.

After the Juryo Division tournament, there was a kid’s sumo demonstration, where a couple sumo wrestlers let a bunch of children gang up on them.  It was really cute.  That was followed by a hilarious comic sumo routine.  Style is along the lines of the 3 Stooges.  I found a portion of the same routine from last year on Youtube, but I think it loses a little something out of context.


Makuuchi East
Then it was time for the Makuuchi Division tournament.  Makuuchi division is the top division in professional sumo.  The tournament began with a ceremonial entrance by the wrestlers.
Makuuchi West
This was followed by a ceremonial entrance by the two active Yokozuna, which is the highest rank in sumo.  The two current Yokozuna are Hakuho and Harumafuji, both from Mongolia.


In addition to the tournament cup, there were also awards for the wrestler who upset the most champions, the one who showed the most fighting spirit, and the one who had the best technique.  They gave everybody a paper with the brackets, so you could keep track of who won the matches and watch the progression to the final match.  The entire tournament takes about 2 1/2 hours. 

There were a few very quick matches where one wrestler just pushed the other out of the ring.  But there were a number of matches where the guys actually had to work for it and a few that were really surprising.  There was one match where a wrestler had the other guy up against the edge of the ring, and everybody thought it was just about over.  And then the one who looked to be losing got a hold of his opponent, picked him up, turned around, and dropped the guy outside the ring.  A couple guys got flipped over to lose the match, and another guy got picked up and walked about 10 feet to the edge of the ring. 

One thing that was particularly interesting to me was to see that there was an Estonian, a Bulgarian and a Georgian in this top division, and all three made a good showing.  The Estonian, Baruto, made it to the quarterfinals.  The Bulgarian, Kotooshu, was a semifinalist.  He’s 6’8”, and he uses his height to help throw his opponents off balance. 
Kotooshu (on the right)

Tochinoshin (on the right)
The Georgian, Tochinoshin, is 6’3” and 350 pounds and was also a semifinalist.  He actually beat one of the Yokozuna (Harumafuji) in the quarterfinals and won one of the awards.  (I couldn’t understand which one though.)

At the end of the day, the tournament was won by the 6’1”, 300-pound Mongolian named Kakuryu.  
Final match (Kakuryu is on the left.)
And here's me practicing my sumo stance.  I suspect I wouldn't blend in much.


Thursday, February 7, 2013

Kamakura


I’m finally getting around to posting about my trip down to Kamakura in December!  Kamakura had been on my list of places to visit, but it wasn’t until I realized that the sacred dance I signed up to go see was not in Tokyo that I found myself going in December.  Thankfully, it’s easily accessible – and not too far – by train.  


Daibutsu
Since I was going down to see the rite in the evening, I decided to make a day of it.  I took the train down, stopped to eat ramen for lunch, and then headed over to the famous Daibutsu – or “Great Buddha” – the second tallest bronze Buddha in Japan.  It’s nearly 44 feet tall and is about 760 years old.  Very impressive!



Hasedera Temple

From there, I went to Hasedera Temple.  It’s famous for its statue of Kannon, the goddess of mercy (which we're not allowed to take pictures of).  The grounds are full of little statues of the bodhisattva that is the protector of children – helping the souls of dead children reach paradise.  



Hasedera Temple
Hasedera Temple


The grounds of the temple are lovely, and there is a great view of the city and the bay.












Hachimangu Shrine
I then went to Hachimangu Shrine, which is dedicated to the patron god of samurai.  It has a long approach that goes from the water (I’ve been told), through the center of town and up to the shrine, with several Torii along the way. 




Hachimangu Shrine
As soon as it got dark, I had the privilege of watching the Mikagura – an 800-year old sacred court dance and music that is “rarely performed in public”.  It was all very traditional, slow, solemn and precise.  You can see the notice of the event here.  The “guests from foreign embassies such as America” was me, a guy from FAA and his family.  I wasn't able to take any pictures - sacred rite and all that - so I can't show it to you (besides the pic in the notice), but I’m very thankful that I had the opportunity to see it.